Author: grasshopper

TMITHC – I want an animated film

Posted on by in #FanCastleSunday, Grasshopper Nation, High Castle

Earlier this week I was thinking about all things High Castle (no surprises there!). I know I touched on the finality of the series end last time, so I’ll keep this intro short. With the props and costumes gone, I felt my hopes dashed…and then I started drawing.

The Man in the High Castle – An Animated Film

DISCLAIMER
I am not affiliated with Amazon Prime. As far as I know, an animated film is not in the works. This is purely an idea from a dedicated fan.

My ideas for the film’s opening sequences

Main Plot – Matthew Müller

1961 – Air Force captain Matthew Müller unknowingly travels. He finds himself on the streets of a very different NYC. In disbelief, he stops dead in his tracts. He gazes up at the giant, crimson banner hanging from an unfamiliar building.

He is ambushed and thrown to the ground by the Schutzstaffel

“What’s with the uniform?” a calm voice drawls. The man standing over him lights a cigarette and begins pacing, his movements casual as though he hadn’t a care in the world.

Matthew remains silent as the man carries on like this for what feels like an eternity. The man stops, flicks ash from his cigarette, and nods to someone in the shadows.

Another imposing man in SS black appears and drops a manila folder in front of him.

“It looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way,” the first man says and walks away.

Secondary Plot

Chief Inspector Kido holds a photograph in his hand, his gaze stern as he looks at the blurry image.

The resistance has been growing bolder, and rumors of a film with dangerous ideas are circulating, but now he has a name.

Trudy Walker

Inspiration for Matthew Müller

I was originally drawing him as a character study for my Alice novel (I will write at least one full paragraph this month, so help me multiverse!). I’ve been discouraged for the past two years, and I want to break past it, but that is a story for another day.

A Circle Skirt of Fandoms

Posted on by in Alfred Bester, Babylon 5, Grasshopper Nation, High Castle, Psi Corps

And trying to make progress on my novel!

I swear I will hit one of my monthly writing goals at one point this year! I’m going to go out on a limb and say I was aiming a bit too high when I sat down and made a game plan. I haven’t been able to finish anything since completing my Sisters novel, and I desperately want to change that.

#HighCastle/#Babylon5 Bester Circle Skirt

Say that ten times fast!

No. Seriously. I am making this, and it is A Thing. I bought myself a sewing machine with Christmas money in January, and life is too short to not aspire to create your own vintage fandom ensembles.

Isn’t she lovely? I got a great deal on her with Amazon Renewed!

My First Sewing Adventure Since 2010

I took time to plan this out because I want this to be the most beautiful and unlikely combination I’ve ever created, which means I wanted to start with something simple. Circle skirts are simple, right?

Step 1: Math. Circles. The waist is the circumference, and you need the radius of it in order to sketch the pattern and cut a proper waistband.

w = waist
r = radius
d = diameter
s = desired skirt length - don't forget to decide how long you want that skirt to fall!

w/π = d
d/2 = r

Step 2: Order enough fabric or you’ll find yourself having to buy another panel and having to sew it together. I must say that sewing was a breeze with my machine.

Step 3: Make an old school compass. No. Really. This is the best way to do it. Get a strand of yarn, make sure it’s a few inches longer than (r + s), and grab the nearest pen. Tie the yarn to the pen. Tie the other end to a pin, and stab that pin into the carpet! It is helpful to secure some measuring tape to the pin as well.

You’re going to use the radius you calculated in the first step and wrap the yarn around the pen until it’s there.

Using the pin you stabbed into the carpet as an anchor, draw a half circle. Add the radius to your desired skirt length (r + s) to draw the skirt part–if you don’t, your skirt will be too short.

Step 4: flatten the fabric (and pin if necessary) and cut 1/2 inch outside the lines.

Step 5: The fun part! If you want to add some flair now is the time to do it.

The next step is to do a little bit of my favorite thing in the universe: hand sew the iron on patches to ensure they stay in place. I am not going lie. I hate hand sewing, so it might be forever before I get around to it. Oh the absolute dread of hand sewing!

Forever a #HighCastle Fan

Posted on by in #FanCastleSunday, High Castle

It’s been roughly two and a half months since The Man in the High Castle’s series finale dropped, and I am adrift in the Die Nebenwalt of mourning. I miss looking forward to the next season. I miss following the cast and crew as they posted their behind the scenes shenanigans–I miss everything.

The finale was perfection. How can anything else ever top it? The show ended with such completeness, that I don’t feel the need to make up my own ending as I’ve often done with other shows. It is hard to come to terms with “It is over” when something has been your life for the past five years.

With that being said, I’ll never stop creating High Castle art. It has cemented itself a place in my heart.

Something near and dear to my heart
S4 autographed poster
S2 autographed poster
My #HighCastle props auction winnings!

MLC’s Top 10 TMITHC Characters

Posted on by in #FanCastleSunday, High Castle

With Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle finale dropping two months ago, I thought it would be fun to sit down and figure out who my favorite characters have been across all four seasons. It was not easy narrowing them down to just ten, but I somehow managed to do it.

Without further adieu, my top ten #HighCastle characters!

Honorable Mentions Admiral Inokuchi & the Crown Princess – I adored their practical, yet humane, approach to everything. 
Juliana – Her curiosity and determination to solve the mystery about the films and her sister’s death in Season 1 captivated me and forever turned me into a fan of the show. 

10. Joe Blake – One of my favorite scenes throughout the series is when Joe discovers his past. His gut wrenching reaction and how he eventually swore loyalty to his father made the character all the more interesting for me, so he has earned his place in my top ten!

9. Bell Mallory – She makes it onto my top ten because she went from a cold hardliner to a kind heroine offering peace to everyone who defected from the Reich and Wehrmacht. I can see myself in her shoes. I wish we could have seen more of her.

8. Helen Smith – I adore Helen. She had one of the most interesting character arcs in the series. She went from a loyal wife of the Reich (with all its ideals and obedience) to the ultimate betrayal of those values.

7. Rudolph Wagner – I will always love Wagner. He did terrible things in the name of the Reich, and unlike Smith, his guilt devoured him. When he came face to face with the man he grew to hate, his humanity took over, and rather than end Hitler, he ended himself to save his family.

6. Ed McCarthy – There is no way the sweet, innocent Ed is not going to be on this list! He was a welcome respite to all of the terror and horrors experienced in the Pacific States.

5. Robert Childan – Like Helen, he had one of the most intriguing arcs. I touched on this briefly on Twitter–he went from the selfish, greedy antiques dealer to sacrificing it all for his wife.

4. Frank Frink – He was my favorite character in Season 1. His story that season was the most relatable. You have this ordinary guy just trying to keep his head down and follow along, obeying his Japanese occupiers who, by no fault of his own, was thrown into tragedy and chaos. He could no longer be ‘that’ guy. His life was forever altered, and he had an understandable reaction to it. I was thrilled to see him go back to his Season 1 roots in Season 3.

3. Takeshi Kido – Kido is someone I’ve always loved to hate. He was such a bastard, but I couldn’t help but want to see more.

2. Nobusuke Tagomi – Let’s just say that if Tagomi ran for president, he’d have my vote. He was the ultimate bastion of peace, tranquility, yet held a firm hand when he needed to.

Speak softly and carry a big stick – Theodore Roosevelt

Coming in at #1, my ultimate favorite High Castle character (and possibly favorite character of all time)

1.  John Smith – Smith was unlike any character I’d ever seen, which is what drew me to the show after watching the first episode. He possessed such confidence, cunning, and ruthlessness, yet he was also a family man. He managed to climb the ranks of a dark, vile organization all the way to the top, unphased all the way up until the very end when he was forced to look at himself. I cannot stress enough how relieved I am that he did not get an inane redemption arc. His ending only made me like the character more.

Excerpt from Alice and a New Decade

Posted on by in Alice, Fiction

With a new decade upon us in just a few days, I am going to throw myself in the the cliche tradition of coming up with New Year resolutions. Worry not, dear friends, these aren’t your run of the mill, generic, go to the gym every single day and stop going after a week or start eating stuff I hate to go on a diet and fail because gross who wants to eat crap they don’t like?

I want to start writing again.

That’s it. That’s my resolution.

I haven’t written much at all since 2018 and it’s high time I got back  into it. I’ve got a novel planned and outlined that hasn’t been finished since…you guessed it, 2018!

Here is the first chapter, and let me raise a glass to everyone; may the 20s be roaring.